Discover the keys every Christian teacher needs to make every day a great day in the classroom.

Subscribe to the Teach 4 the Heart Podcast.It was a great day when I discovered 4 magic words that just seem to dissolve tension and eliminate at least half of the arguments in my classroom.And those words are: "You're not in trouble."Students can be so defensive, can't they? (and let's be honest,

Welcome to my back to school series! The next couple of posts will be school-related to help those of you who are going back to school soon. I know you probably don’t want to be thinking abou…

Help your kids memorize Bible verses with these Brilliant Bible Verse Memory Games that your kids will BEG to play again and again!

Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...

In this article, we will show a little teacher appreciation with the best Bible verses for teachers. They will express how much you care and encourage them to keep teaching. So whether it's Teacher's Day,

These Zacchaeus Bible story activities can be used in Christian Preschool programs and Sunday schools. Zacchaeus Sequencing Print these story

Teaching your little ones the alphabet is a great opportunity to introduce them to some key Bible characters and concepts. We have just released our Bible ABC Letter of the Week Notebook available for $15 in

Perfect for Catholic, Christian, Private, or Public Schools This product can help you teach your students about virtues and how to practice them in their everyday life Included are Journal pages, 40 full color posters, and a bulletin board header that says "Virtue of the Week" Check out my other Religious Products: Catholic Prayer Posters Catholic, Christian, and Virtue Brag Tags God, Our Father and Creator

Are you looking for a unique Christian gift for your loved one? Maybe it’s for a birthday or anniversary? Or, maybe you need a baptism gift? Whatever the occasion, it’s always a good idea to bless others with a gift! If you’re shopping for a fellow believer, we think the best gifts are those that will encourage them in their faith. It doesn’t have to be big and elaborate. The most meaningful gifts are those that support and encourage your loved ones in their relationship with God. Perhaps you need a gift for your mom or dad—or a friend. Or, maybe you’re looking for a gift for your pastor to show him some appreciation. The most important thing in gift-giving is to make it meaningful. That’s why we created this collection of unique Christian gifts that are both useful and beautiful. So if you’re looking for an encouraging gift for a loved one who’s passionate about their faith… we’ve got you covered. This collection of faith-filled gifts includes inspirational home decor, accessories, books, and more. Here are 28 unique Christian gift options in 2022. 28 Unique Christian Gifts in 2022 All these gift ideas are from small, family-owned, faith-based businesses. We’ve personally used products from every shop recommended in this post. And some of them we created ourselves here at God’s fingerprints. Enjoy browsing through these encouraging faith-based gifts. There are plenty of unique options that are sure to inspire the “cheerful giver” in you (2 Corinthians 9:7). 1. 16

Free Bible Alphabet Coloring Pages

Do you struggle to handle defiance in your classroom? Here's how you can build better relationships with your students and end resistance once and for all.

I’m so excited about this little project I get to share with you today! And just in time for Earth Day, too! It’s kind of hilarious because it has been a lonnnnng time coming. I started making these books with my students back in October and I JUST NOW sent the last one home. SHEESH. […]

3 Behavior Management Tips EVERY Pre-K/Preschool Teacher should be using in their classroom.

Get God’s Little Explorers (Complete Download and Bonuses) for $22! Wondering what the difference is between the free version and the complete download? Be sure to check out the top 10 differences here. Looking for the free curriculum? Scroll down to find the links for each week! I am so excitedcontinue Reading...

These 48 Biblical affirmations for kids will help your children to learn who God says they are and trust that he has great plans for their lives.

Das Material kann gut für die Einführung und Festigung der Orff-Instrumente genutzt werden und ist vorrangig für Klasse 1/2 konzipiert. Insbesondere die Station

I'm still oohing and ahhing over my new blog *sigh* So with a new blog design, her is my big new idea. Well new idea for my blog lol. I'm so excited about my new idea! It's going to be a once a month series, on the first Sunday of each month! The main idea? Substitute preparedness! I will have a new topic each month on how you can be prepared for a sub! And my goal is to have a freebie with each post *fingers crossed* I even made a snazzy blog button for it! Frame: Tracee Orman Top font : A Cupcake For The Teacher Today's topic is about being prepared for any emergency absence. A few of the best things that I've seen as a sub, were super prepared teachers that had emergency lessons and stuff for up to five days, just in case. And in one situation, the teacher who thought she was going to be gone just for one or two days, was gone the whole week, but I had her emergency week stuff. I know it's hard to plan using general lessons, but it can be done! Or choose to have your emergency lessons have a them like an author, artist, or topic. If you can, leaving the outline of your next week's lessons would be a bonus, that way your sub could get the idea of what you are teaching for math, spelling, etc. In the the few instances where I didn't have any lesson plans, there generally was the week's plan and I could at least keep the schedule going and the math unit on target. One teacher had 2-3 worksheets already copied for each subject. She is prepared! Some tips for subject material to leave : Reading: If you Daily 5, then this shouldn't really be a problem for you sub. Or have activities that can be done for any book for guided reading or table work. I just created a pack exactly for that! Math: If you have math centers, then this isn't a problem. Have students work out of their textbook. Some fun ideas (especially if it is a Friday) have them play math games or games on the computer. My friend Denise at Sunny Days has free Bump math games and other games. Spelling: Have a spelling bee. Or rainbow words. Science: Now this can be a bit of a toughie. I know that the classes I sub for know me enough that they let me teach science lessons and do experiments. Maybe you don't want your sub to do that or put them through that stress lol. In these cases, I've seen teachers have their subs do art/science. Draw a tree/flower and label it. Then students write about it. I did find this cute freebie on TpT about classifying! Social Studies: In this case, this might be one of those things you want prepped ahead. I found a free Scoot game for 2-4th grade. You can always add a read aloud, crafts, choice time, etc. And at the end of the school year and you didn't use your emergency stuff, you will have them for the next school year! And now for the freebie! I've combined a few pages into this pack, it's a little bit of this and that to get your sub tub going! For reading I've included a page from my Reading Activities For Any Book pack! For math, it's an answer sheet for any math problem. For social studies, it's an all about me page. Just click the cover pic below for your freebie!

This past Sunday we continued in our lessons on the Judges! The children were greeted by BIG blow up palm trees. They knew they were in for an exciting lesson. We talked a bit about Shamgar...he killed 600 Philistines with an OX goad. He was a brave man! However, after he died the Hebrews returned to their evil ways...and God allowed them to be oppressed. One of my students asked me, "Why did the Hebrews do this? Why didn't they learn their lesson?" I guess that is the questions we all have when we study the history of the Judges. My visual aids for the story were these 3D visuals. I have had these Palm trees for YEARS, They came in a kids meal when my daughters, who are now 22 & 21 years old, were very young, I have used them time and time again for Bible stories. I purchased the little people from $Tree and Mardels. She is supposed to be Delilah...but, she served as Deborah for today. He is supposed to be an apostle, but today he is Barak. :-) I always try to multipurpose my visuals. Our "Take Home" activity was a palm tree with Deborah sitting beneath it. This was made out of card stock....tape and glue. It was a relatively cheap "Take Home." The kiddos LOVED having their own palm tree! This is what they looked like prior to being colored and assembled. Our Memory Verse is Psalm 92:12. We have a little tune that goes with the Memory Verse. The kiddos seem to have it memorized prior to leaving class. The will make it easy to say it on Wednesday night. I am sure the will ALL be putting up their MAP piece, for knowing their Memory Verse this Wednesday. :-) For our REVIEW GAME we "grew" a palm tree. The kiddos added a Palm Leaf to the tree, by answering questions from the lesson. The leaves have velcro on the back for easy attach-ability. This was very easy to make. I used Printmaster (a computer program) to print the palm tree out as a poster. I made extra leaves and added the velco after laminating. I think it is very cute. Our map is filling up! The kiddos are amazed at all the places and events that have happened. This map makes it easy for us to review places we have learned in the past. Kids LOVE maps!!! As a special treat I gave each of my students a Palm Tree bottle....I told them that every time they use this bottle they need to remember the story of Deborah...and the other Judges. Their Explorer Journal Activity for Wednesday will be a picture of Deborah with palm trees in the background. The palm trees are made from the foam fun material that can be purchased at any craft store. That will make the palm trees 3D. Of course, we all know that Deborah sat beneath the Palm trees in the mountains of Ephraim, between Ramah and Bethel. Teaching on the Judges is an exciting endeavor. The boys in my class are LOVING these lessons. The girls were glad to know that there was a woman judge too. I believe in teaching the Bible as it was written. God wants all of HIS word taught....even though some of the lessons are a bit violent we will be learning about these Mighty Men (and woman) of God. Blessings, Ronda

Looking for teacher captions? Here are the quotes and sayings that reflect the wisdom of educators and mentors.

Check out the most encouraging Bible verses for teachers that will uplift and inspire educators everywhere!

This is a set of three simple activities about items commonly seen at Catholic mass. These activities were designed for young children and are meant to teach basic vocabulary. They feature easy-to-read fonts and include early sight words so your students can read along! Included: * "Things I See at Mass" mini book (three versions) * "Things We See at Mass" flip book * "Things We See at Mass" labeling pages Items included in this resource: altar, holy water font, candle, presider's chair, stole, cross, ambo, Book of Gospels, tabernacle, chalice, Body of Christ Please note: This resource features Catholic items commonly seen in most parishes. If you use a different word for an item or if you need me to make some other change for you, please let me know and I'll be happy to help! Please ask me any questions you have about this product using the Product Q&A below before purchasing. Please remember that your purchase is intended for use in one classroom only. If you intend to share with colleagues, please purchase additional licenses. Contact me for site licensing information. Thank you! ***************************************************************************** Here are more great resources! ★Kindergarten Summer Review Packet ★Kindergarten Writing Center Activities ★Read and Spot ★Kindergarten Literacy Night Pack ***************************************************************************** Follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter For product questions, comments, information, or requests, please contact me at [email protected]

Classroom management is something that many teachers struggle with, especially as budget cuts pack more and more students into classrooms. Some secondary

Practical Leadership Principles for Teens --ultimately, people will choose those whom they wish to follow. If your teen wishes to be a leader, then he will need act like a leader. This comes naturally to many, but if this is not true for your teen, take heart; leadership skills can be learned.

We've all used exit tickets in our classroom for informal assessment, but sometimes it can become boring. Read this post to get exit ticket ideas on how you can engage students with exit slips and still assess your students!

Get an outline for teaching all the reading and writing standards in your Middle School ELA class.

Tips in teaching classroom procedures and their expectations. Click here:

The best teacher planner ever! See pictures of all of the thoughtful details and organization that make my heart go pitter-patter.

The 2012-2013 school year was our first year homeschooling. I had a 5 1/2 year old and a just turned 4 year old and we were doing My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum. I loved the Biblical integration along with the phonics and science instruction, and the gentle introduction of math concepts through daily activities. There was only one thing I didn't love - the handwriting instruction, or, in my opinion, the lack thereof. While it included practice pages for each letter, along with instructions for how to form each letter, these were grossly inadequate for my child, who rarely picked up a crayon to color, and who's writing and drawing ability included drawing a line and a circle. He had never been to preschool. He was such a busy child who learned plenty through playing. He knew his letters and sounds before he was two years old. But he was never interested in coloring or drawing, and I never pushed it. I knew he'd learn to write in Kindergarten, and I was fine with waiting until then. However, once we started Kindergarten, I knew he needed more instruction. The curriculum, which began with practicing writing the letter S in the first week was NOT the recipe for his writing success. Immediately, I knew he needed an introduction to writing on three lines, and he needed to start by writing horizontal, vertical, and diagonal lines on those three lines. As a third grade teacher I had used Zaner-Bloser handwriting curriculum, so I went to their website and ordered samples of their Kindergarten and First Grade books. Upon receiving them, I was happy to see that they began with learning to write horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. From there it progressed to the letters L, I, T, etc. I could see right away that this was much more developmentally appropriate. However, the directions for teaching were still boring. It used the terms "horizontal, vertical, and diagonal" - new terms for my children who were also learning a new fine motor skill. I was looking for cute, kid-friendly descriptions...maybe even pictures of letter and numbers turned into characters to help children remember their formation. I remembered learning that kind of thing as a child who was learning to write. I searched the internet but didn't find what I was looking for....until I found Handwriting Without Tears. It had hands-on teaching materials that taught the components of writing, with child-friendly vocabulary (Big Line, Little Line, Big curve, little curve). For lower case letters, fun descriptions included phrases like "dive down," "magic c," "Slide down," and "Up like a helicopter." It also gave instructions which would help eliminate reversals, which is something my four year old was doing. However, by the time I was convinced it was what I needed, we were done with Kindergarten, and my child had already learned to write, for the most part. However, I like the HWT approach as it transitions into cursive writing, so I decided it was worthwhile to go back and teach HWT handwriting from here on out. However, I didn't want to purchase all their materials, so I found some ways to do it myself at home, with homemade materials and free printable from the internet. I want to use this blog to share what I have done. Here is a downloadable sample of Handwriting Without Tears alphabet poster. However, this sample can be printed on regular copy paper and laminated - a perfect size for homeschooling or one-on-one tutoring! Using materials I already had, (construction paper, magnet tape, a compass, a ruler, scissors and a laminator) I created magnetic pieces that would fit on our small magnetic white boards. This mimics HWT's Wood Pieces for Capital letters, their magnetic pieces, and magnetic board. These materials, along with their other hands-on products can be seen here. Homemade laminated letter pieces on our white board. Magnet tape on the back of the letter pieces. In place of HWT's chalkboards, I also created small white boards for teaching and practicing capitals and lower case. I used a 3 1/2 x 5 photo frame for the capitals, and a 5x7 photo frame for the lower case. These handwriting without tears products can be found here for capital letter board and here for lower case lettter board. Then, I found free printables to help with the teaching terms here. I put them, along with free printable practice pages I found online such as this one in plastic sleeves and bound them together with rings. I have also found the videos on HWT's website and on you tube to be very helpful in explaining their teaching methods. We enjoyed doing the Mat Man activity with my homemade pieces. (See this video). This also helped my oldest who couldn't seem to get beyond drawing people with arms and legs coming out of their heads! Mat Man pieces store in a plastic sleeve Our "Mat Man" I plan to purchase the workbooks and teacher's books on grade level, but for now I can get started with these items! (Update: I still haven't purchased the books, but am using these homemade materials with success!).

Massive list of classroom jobs for elementary students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, or second grade - such great ideas for classroom jobs!

Our continuing Exploration through the Life of Jesus Has brought us to the time when Jesus performs another miracle. JESUS HEALS THE PARALYZED MAN. We added NEW CARDS to our DO You Know? Wall. My Expectation is for the KIDDOS to be able to answer each of these by the end of the lesson. We had two new words to add to our WORD WALL. I chose PARALYZED and FRIEND. We reviewed the WORD AMAZED!! Those are important words for the KIDDOS to understand for this lesson to make more sense to them. Our VISUAL Aid for this lesson was literally made out of a box. I cannot even remember what was originally in the box....but, I knew I needed to keep it because of the nice "VIEWING WINDOW" it had. I'm always thinking, could I use "THIS" in Bible Class....before I throw thing away. I Just decorated the box with paper I had purchased at Dollar Tree....The box already had the plastic front, which made it great for a "DIORAMA." The people were copied out of a copyable clipart book, that we have owned for a really long time. The KIDDOS really enjoyed my using this DIORAMA while telling the story. This is the SONG we learned with this lesson. This song was fun to sing using the paralyzed man on the mat that we used for our review game...the KIDDOS loved "LETTING HIM DOWN GENTLY" as we sang the song. The song can be heard by clicking the following link. "Through The Roof" song--by Ronda Duvall Our MEMORY VERSE was Mark 2:12! To hear the MEMORY VERSE song click on this link. Memory Verse Song MARK 2:12 We Added a NEW Card to our GOD'S AWESOME PLAN FOR MAN Timeline!! The Kiddo's TAKE-HOME project was a Quilt and Paralyzed man with yarn on each corner. The KIDDOS could lay the man on the quilt and lower him down. This weeks REVIEW Game was another Dramatization style game. I would have four KIDDOS answer questions from the lesson....They would then go get a corner of the "mat" and we would lower him down by answering more questions from the lesson. Then we would repeat the process until all the children had a chance to be one of the four friends. As you know, the second week of the LESSON is when we REVIEW. It gives me opportunity to correct any misunderstandings. It also, gives opportunities for the KIDDOS who missed class the first week to "CATCH UP." This is the Week we SAY our MEMORY VERSE from MEMORY and We do an ACTIVITY we add to our EXPLORER JOURNAL. This LESSON'S EXPLORER JOURNAL ACTIVITY was a variation of something I had seen....I just made it on my computer using clipart I have purchased. The KIDDOS added ropes to the four friends hands and colored their "movie strip." These will be placed in the KIDDOS EXPLORER JOURNAL. The KIDDOS take home their EXPLORER JOURNAL at the end of a TOPIC. So, this one will stay in the classroom until we complete our Lessons on the LIFE OF CHRIST. We are enjoying our continuing Exploration of the LIFE of CHRIST. I am enjoying teaching the LESSONS and I know the KIDDOS are loving learning about our LORD! Blessings, Ronda

It gets at the real reasons behind burnout.

When I think of the world that we live in and how many colors are all around, I am truly amazed. Rainbows, fish, butterflies, flowers...there are many colorful things in our world. So, when it comes to teaching colors to my little learners, what better way than to let them know that these colorful things come from God.

When trouble is abound in your Preschool or Kindergarten classroom, Sandi is here to save the day! Sandi is an incredible, seasoned, and passionate Kindergarten teacher here to solve your preschool classroom management woes once and for all! Here are Sandi's 7 tips for making sure your Preschool classroom is running smooth and peaceful. Preschool

They say that rapport is important, but I'm not so sure I believe them. Rapport is overrated, so here's 7 easy ways to destroy any you've accidentally built.

FREE VBS Printables - These are great for all Vaction Bible School needs, may it be Virtual VBS, At-Home VBS, VBS in a box, and normal